Shame

Shame

10.3.1 Shame

Timothy is urged not to be ashamed of the testimony or of Paul, the Lord’s prisoner (2 Tim. 1:8). Paul himself exemplifies not being ashamed of the gospel (2 Tim. 1:12) and Onesiphorus, not being ashamed of Paul the prisoner (2 Tim. 1:16). Given the potency of shame-honour systems in the first-century Mediterranean world, Bassler concludes that the author is constructing a new honour system, “to encourage bold proclamation of the gospel—in spite of the potentially ‘shameful’ consequences—among an honor-sensitive people.” So he avoids “shameful” components in the summary of the gospel (2 Tim. 1:10) and infuses “shame-linked items” such as Paul’s imprisonment with “new categories of honor.” 5 These insights from the Graeco-Roman environment are fruitful, but the “sacred writings” that he commends (2 Tim. 3:16) and the traditions of Hellenistic Judaism also provided concepts of being ashamed/put to shame.

The hope of not being “put to shame” appears frequently in LXX Psalms (e.g., Pss 21:6 [Pss 22:5]; Pss 24:2, Pss 24:3, Pss 24:20 [Pss 25:2, Pss 25:3, Pss 25:20]; Pss 30:2, Pss 30:18 [Pss 31:1, Pss 31:17]; Pss 33:6 [Pss 34:5]; Pss 36:19 [Pss 37:19]; Pss 68:7 [Pss 69:6]; Pss 70:1 [Pss 71:1]; Pss 73:21 [Pss 74:21]; Pss 118:31, Pss 118:46, Pss 118:80, Pss 118:116 [Pss 119:31, Pss 119:46, Pss 119:80, Pss 119:116]; Pss 126:5 [Pss 127:5]), 6 along with the expectation that the ungodly will be put to shame (e.g. Pss 6:11 [Pss 6:11]; Pss 24:3 [Pss 25:3]; Pss 30:18 [Pss 31:17]; Pss 34:4 [Pss 35:4]; Pss 39:15 [Pss 40:14]; Pss 43:8 [Pss 44:7]; Pss 52:6 [Pss 53:5]; Pss 69:3 [Pss 70:2]). Not being put to shame often parallels positive concepts such as rescue or saving, which similarly depend on trust in God, e.g.:

  πρὸς σὲ ἐκέκραξαν καὶ ἐσώθησαν ἐπὶ σοὶ ἤλπισαν καὶ οὐ κατῃσχύνθησαν

  To you they cried, and were saved; in you they trusted, and were not put to shame.

(Ps 21:6 [Ps 22:5])

  φύλαξον τὴν ψυχήν μου καὶ ῥῦσαί με μὴ καταισχυνθείην ὅτι ἤλπισα ἐπὶ σέ

  O guard my life, and deliver me; do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.

(Ps 24:20 [Ps 25:20])

A contrast is pointed between those who look to the Lord and the ungodly:

  κύριε μὴ κατασχυνθείην ὅτι ἐπεκαλεσάμην σε αἰσχυνθείησαν οἱ ἀσεβεῖς καὶ καταχθείησαν εἰς ᾅδου

  Do not let me be put to shame, O LORD, for I call on you; let the wicked be put to shame; let them go dumbfounded to Sheol.

(Ps 30:18 [Ps 31:17])

There is also the example, suggestive in the context of 2 Tim 2:8, of:

  καὶ ἐλάλουν ἐν τοῖς μαρτυρίοις σου ἐναντίον βασιλέων καὶ οὐκ ᾐσχυνόμην

  I will also speak of your decrees before kings, and shall not be put to shame;

(Ps 118:46 [Ps 119:46])

Outside Psalms, Isa 28:16, ὁ πιστεύων ἐπʼ αὐτῷ οὐ μὴ καταισχυνθῇ, links not being put to shame to trust in God’s “cornerstone,” which Rom 9:33; Rom 10:11 and 1 Pet 3:16 interpret as faith in Christ.

Wieland, George M. The Significance of Salvation: A Study of Salvation Language in the Pastoral Epistles. Milton Keynes: Paternoster, 2006. Print.